


Some Things Can't Be Stopped

by Jajajaja



Category: Station 19 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Angst, Domestic Fluff, Eventual Smut, F/M, M/M, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-04
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-17 01:09:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29833728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jajajaja/pseuds/Jajajaja
Summary: While in the middle of her training program at the Seattle fire academy, Victoria Hughes meets a handsome stranger at her favorite coffee shop.Strap in, folks. We're in for a ride :)
Relationships: Michael/Travis Montgomery, Victoria Hughes/Lucas Ripley
Comments: 19
Kudos: 34





	1. Do You Mind If I Sit Here

“Order for Vic. Chai latte,” the barista called out. Vic interrupted her absent scrolling through Instagram to tuck her phone into her pocket and retrieve her drink. 

“Thanks, Jenna!”

She surveyed the coffee shop, looking for open seats and considered her options. There was either a seat on the couch along the side wall, or an empty chair at a table where another person was already sitting. She wanted to set up her laptop, and she needed a surface to write on, so decided to head for the table. It could seat four people, and there was only one man sitting at it with his stuff spread out around him. 

“Hey,” she said brightly, and the man looked up from his work. “Do you mind if I sit here? There’s kind of no more chairs.” 

“Oh, yeah, no problem,” he said, gesturing at the empty chair placed diagonally from where he was sitting. 

“Thanks, I promise to be quiet,” Vic said. She put down her drink and started to unpack her bag, putting her laptop, a notebook, and some writing utensils on the table. The man gathered some of his stray papers closer to himself, giving her room to set up. “Oh, don’t worry about that,” she said, sitting down. 

“No, it’s fine,” he said, and resumed his work.

Vic started her laptop, connected her headphones, and opened her notebook. True to her word, she worked silently, and about an hour after she sat down, the man packed up his things and left. 

“Have a nice rest of your morning,” he said. 

“You too,” Vic said with a smile, then fit her headphones back over her ears.

\-------

Vic tapped the end of her pen against her cheek as her eyes scanned back and forth over the words on her screen. She scribbled in her notebook and kept reading. She was studying for the practical skills assessment that she had the next day at the fire academy. The Seattle fire academy was an  _ intensive _ four month training program that left her with little time for anything other than school, studying, and sleeping.

She was distracted from her studying when she noticed a man arriving at the half-booth next to hers. He caught her eye and nodded at her. 

“Oh, it’s you again,” Vic said. 

“I’m sorry?” the man said. 

“I--uh--I saw you the last time I was here,” she explained. “Never mind,” she said with a polite smile. 

“Ohhh,” the man said in realization. “Right, right.”

“Like I said, never mind,” Vic said, returning to her work. “Sorry to bother you.”

“Oh, it’s no bother at all,” he said, sitting down at his table. There was a pause. “I’m Lucas,” he said, reaching his hand out.

“Vic,” Vic said, grateful that he had just rolled with the fact that a stranger was starting conversation with him for no reason. She stretched across the gap between their tables to shake his hand.

“Vic?” he said, his eyebrow quirking upward. 

“It’s short for Victoria,” she explained, “but no one calls me that.”

“Nice to meet you, Vic.”

“Likewise,” she said. “I’ll let you get back to it.”

\-------

Vic rubbed her burning eyes. She was tired, and she’d been staring at her computer screen for what felt like hours. She’d arrived at the coffee shop early because she needed to catch up on some studying for her class. The workout she had done yesterday still had her arms begging for rest. And to make matters worse, her drink had already run out. 

She decided to treat herself to her second ten minute break. She put on a good song, leaned back in her chair, and closed her eyes, letting the music in her headphones wash over her.  _ Just thirteen more weeks of this _ , she told herself. Thirteen weeks and her life would be totally different: new job, new schedule, new people. She needed to stay focused on her goal.

Across the shop, Lucas sat at the tall communal table against the window. He had seen Vic when he came in, but her eyes were closed, and she didn’t look entirely approachable. Lucas decided that it would be better to stick to himself.

\-------------

Vic hummed as she waited for her to-go order. She was supposed to meet with two of her fellow recruits to run drills before class started. She was tired, like she always was these days, but she knew that scoring well and graduating at the top of her class would be essential for getting placed at a good station. At least, that’s what Captain Herrera had told her. 

When she finally made the decision to enroll at the fire academy, she had sought him out for advice, and he had insisted that she needed to do everything in her power to be assigned to Station 19. She could see why. 19 was at the top of the game as far as response times and favorable outcomes. The culture was good. And there were two women working during the shift that she had visited, which was at least one more than almost any other shift at any station, from what she could tell. Seattle was above the national average for female firefighters, but it was still something like eleven percent… not exactly encouraging. 

In any case, the drills and the early morning and the late nights would pay off in a few months. That’s what she told herself anyways. Truth be told, it’s not like the academy was keeping her from some glamorous social life or important family time, but she missed her sleep goddamn it. And her shows. 

She picked up her drink as soon as it was ready and moved towards the exit. She saw Lucas sitting at the same booth that he had sat at the first time she had spoken with him. She thought for a moment about saying hi.  _ No time,  _ she told herself. As she was turning away from him, he gave her a nod and a wave. She waved at him with her free hand and continued on her way.


	2. Big Sib Little Sib

It was early. Much too early for Vic to be meeting new people and to be expected to be charming at the same time.  _ Ten more weeks, ten more weeks, _ she repeated to herself.

“... Gerald Thompson and Matt Nesbaum. Zeke Jameson and Perry Stills. Victoria Hughes and Travis Montgomery. And last but not least, Ethan Wong and Trent White,” Michael listed from the podium at the front of the room. “Okay, now I want you to meet up in your pairs and get to know each other!” There was a muffled shuffling as the fire academy recruits and the active duty firefighters stood up from their seats to find each other. “Introduce yourselves! Don’t be shy!” Michael said, moving around the room.

“Are you Victoria Hughes?” a man asked, approaching her. 

“Yeah, and Vic is fine,” Vic said, reaching her hand out for a handshake. 

“Travis Montgomery,” Travis said. 

“Share a fun fact about yourself with your sib,” Michael called to the room.

“What are we-- a sorority?” Vic quipped. Travis kind of scowled at her.  _ Great, she’d been paired up with a guy who had no sense of humor. Or maybe he just wasn’t a morning person _ , she hoped. 

Michael came over at that moment, and clapped Vic on the arm. Travis’s demeanor changed, instantly becoming less frowny. “Vic, I’m so glad you decided to come back!” Michael said. 

“Me too,” she said, putting on a smile. She’d only met Michael twice before, but she liked him. The first time, he had come to the academy to tell the recruits about the mentorship program that he was starting and urge them all to join. The second time was a week ago, when he held the first meeting with only the recruits, explained their goals, and had everybody introduce themselves. 

“I didn’t want everyone else to be jealous, but I gave you the best mentor,” he told her with a secret little smile. 

“You might be biased, babe,” Travis said, rolling his eyes at his husband.

“Oh, he’s your boyfriend?” Vic asked, pointing at Travis. 

“Husband,” Travis corrected. 

“Okay, fine, I might be a little biased,” Michael said, “but I still think you’re the best.” He started moving on to the next pair. “Feel free to torture him a little,” he told Vic as he left.

Vic chuckled, and Travis threw a look of mock betrayal at his husband. 

As soon as Michael left, Travis closed up again. “So how long have you been a firefighter?” Vic asked, hoping to jumpstart the conversation. 

Travis was perfectly polite, but by the end of the meeting, Vic was pretty sure that the only reason he was doing the program was to support his husband. It’s not that she didn’t understand his motivations; she did. But she still wished she had been assigned to someone more excited to teach. She wished Michael could have been her mentor.

“That’s all the time we have today,” Michael said at the end of the hour. “Big sibs, if you’re on shift starting this morning, please take your little sib with you. Show them the ropes. Have them shadow you today. I’ve gotten approval for stations under Battalion Chiefs Morris and Frankel. Otherwise, it is up to the discretion of your individual captains. Please, ask for permission. We are trying to grow this wonderful program department-wide.” He clapped his hands once. “Alright, again, thank you all so much. I’ll see you all next week, bright and early. Have a good week!”

People started gathering their things and filtering out of the room, some greeting Michael as they left. 

“See you at work, Montgomery,” a man said as he walked past them.

“Later, Stills,” Travis greeted.

“Are you working this morning?” Vic asked him.

“Yeah, you’re welcome to join,” Travis said. 

“Thank you.”

“How’re you crazy kids getting on?” Michael came over to ask.

“Great, I’m gonna join Travis at work today,” Vic said.

“That’s great!” Michael said. “Do you want to ride with us? I’m gonna drop Travis at 88 before I head over to the academy for a quick meeting.”

“Oh, that’s okay. I drove,” Vic said, jingling her keys in her hand. 

“Okay, we’ll see you there then,” Michael said. 

“Yeah, thanks,” Vic said. 

“Thank you for coming,” Michael said. 

“Bye Michael, Travis,” Vic said as she left. 

“Bye!” 

“Bye, Vic,” Travis said. 

As soon as she left the room, Michael turned to Travis. “Will you please be nice to her?” he said.

“I am being nice,” Travis said. 

“Real nice, Trav, not fake polite nice.”

“I’m not doing that,” Travis grumped.

“Trav.”

“What? I’m not.”

“She’s a good recruit. Motivated, quick-learner.”

“Recruits are so annoying,” Travis whined. “They’re even worse than probies, and probies are already the worst.”

“Pleeease.”

“I’ll be nice. I’ll be nice,” Travis relented. It was Michael. He could never say no to Michael. 

“Thanks, babe,” he said, giving him a peck on the cheek.

The last few people were trickling out of the room, and Travis and Michael followed them out of the civic center. Michael grabbed his hand as they stepped outside, and swung their hands lightly in between them. 

“You know, Vic’s the only woman that signed up for the mentorship program,” he told Travis. Travis thought back to the meeting and realized that he had not noticed that fact. Firefighting was such a male-dominated field that the lack of women at the meeting had not registered to him because it was not out of the ordinary. “There’s only two women in her class. I paired her with you because I know that some of our coworkers have… traditional views about firefighting,” Michael continued. 

“You don’t have to remind me about traditional views,” Travis said. The number of coworkers who had started to act differently towards him once they learned he was gay, and especially once he and Michael had started dating, was staggering. The great majority of people weren’t overtly homophobic, but there were little comments and looks. Michael took it all in stride, but it bothered Travis more than he was willing to admit.

“So, please, be a good big sib,” Michael said. 

“You’ve already convinced me. You can stop now,” Travis said.

“Look out for her,” he said. They separated as they neared their car, Michael heading to the driver’s seat and Travis moving to the passenger’s side.

“I’m sure she doesn’t need me to do that,” Travis said.

Michael dropped Travis off at 88 and drove off with a kiss goodbye. When Travis entered the station, he saw Vic in the lobby, talking with Brandon West. Travis was not fond of Brandon. He was the latest addition to Station 88, having been recently transferred after completing his probationary year at 23. Everyone knew that 23 was the worst station in the department, and Brandon seemed to have a chip on his shoulder for being associated with it. Already a naturally braggadocious guy, Brandon was constantly overcompensating. It was annoying at best, and a safety hazard at worst.

“I’ll have to show you some tricks for breathing drills,” Brandon was saying as Travis approached the pair.

“Oh, yeah?” Vic said.

“It’s kinda my specialty. Montgomery knows what I’m talking about. Huh, Montgomery?” Brandon said as he saw Travis heading their way. 

“Hughes,” Travis said. “You can head into the captain’s office. He wants to meet with you before the shift starts. I’ll join you in a minute.”

“Got it,” she said. 

“See you out there,” Brandon said to her. 

“Okay,” she said, turning to head for the office. 

“She’s hot, huh?” Brandon said to Travis once Vic left. “Good thing I don’t have to fight you for her,” he said with a chuckle, elbowing Travis in the ribs.

Travis moved out of the way annoyedly. “She’s not one of your fireflies, West. She’s a recruit.”

“It’s all the same to me, baby,” Brandon said. “Just watch and see.”

Travis refused to dignify Brandon’s words with a response.  _ Though maybe he should have said something. Maybe that’s what Michael had been talking about. Stupid Michael and his stupid mentoring program. _

Travis knocked on the open door to the captain’s office as he walked through it. Vic and Captain McMahon were having an animated discussion when Travis interrupted. 

“Oh, good,” the captain said. “Close the door behind you.” Travis did so and sat down in the other empty chair next to Vic. “I was just talking to Hughes here about what she can expect for the day,” he said, gesturing at her. “I’m putting you on aid car, Montgomery. You can take her on all of your calls for today.”

“Yes, sir,” Travis said. It was still kind of weird to be calling McMahon sir. He’d only been promoted to captain a few weeks ago, and he was a young captain. Travis personally thought he was too green to be a captain already, but these decisions were made far above his pay grade. All he could do was make the best of the situation. At least, that’s what Michael said. Michael and McMahon had been friends and coworkers for years.

\------

The next morning, Vic felt like a zombie as she left the station. The aid car had been extremely busy all day and even through the night, interrupting her sleep several times. And while Travis and everyone else had the rest of the day off, she had to be at her class in an hour. Captain McMahon had suggested that she could go home yesterday after dinner, but she refused. She didn’t want to show any weakness, and she wanted to learn as much as she could. 

For all that Travis seemed to be an impersonal grump, he seemed to be taking this teaching thing seriously. During every aid call that they went on, he continuously peppered her with questions about how she would handle their patient’s care and how she would react to different hypothetical scenarios. 

“Give the kid a chance to breathe,” Travis’s aid car partner, Hill, had joked, but Vic reassured him that she was happy to learn.

She closed her car door and rested her head on the steering wheel for a second. She was mentally and physically exhausted. She needed a pick me up, so she drove to her coffee shop for a much needed caffeine boost.

The bell above the front door jingled as she stepped in. The strong smell of coffee was already recharging her. She stood in line, humming along to the soft music playing over the shop’s speaker. The door jingled behind her, and she turned around. It was that man.

“It’s you again,” he said, parroting her words from before. She smiled. “Vic, right?” he said, pointing at her. 

“Yup, that’s right,” she said. She racked her brain trying to remember his name, but just wasn’t happening. Her face must have given it away because he was now holding back a bit of a smile. “Sorry, I forgot your name,” she finally confessed. 

“I figured,” he said with a chuckle. “It’s Lucas.”

“Lucas,” she said. “Lucas, Lucas, Lucas,” she repeated to herself, moving up with the line. “Sorry, I suck at names.”

“Don’t worry about it,” he said. “I have to know tons of names for work, so I use a little trick to help me remember. It helps if you associate the person’s name with something else about them.”

“Well, you don’t know anything about me. What are you associating with?” she asked.

“If I tell you what it is, it won’t work anymore,” he joked. 

Vic shook her head and smiled. “That’s definitely not how that works,” she said, and he laughed.  _ Was he flirting with her or was he just a friendly guy? _ Lucas was hot. He was definitely a little older. The greying hair at his temples and the creases in his forehead told her that, but hot was hot. And you can’t argue with hot.

He jerked his head towards the line, reminding her that she needed to keep moving up. She took a step, then turned back around to talk to him.

“Try it out on me,” he told her.

“You have to tell me something about yourself first,” she said. “Uh, what do you do?”

He shook his head. “Let’s not talk about that,” he said. “My sister’s always telling me that I spent too much time at work, thinking about work, or with people from work. Now I’m finally making a friend who has nothing to do with work.”

“We’re friends, huh?” 

“Yes, I think that could be nice,” he said.

_ Well, that settled that question.  _ “Okay, friendo, tell me something about yourself.”

“Okay,” he said, taking a second to think. “I love camping. My favorite band is Queen… and I can juggle really well, like surprisingly well.” Vic laughed. “Does any of that help?”

“No, it really doesn’t,” she said. He laughed, too.

Now, Vic was at the front of the line. “Next,” the cashier called. “Hey, Vic. How’re you doing?” he asked as she stepped up to the counter.

“Hey, Cam,” she said. “I’m good. How are you?”

“I’m doing fine,” he said. “What can I get started for you?”

“Uh, I’ll have a large cappuccino with an extra shot of espresso.”

“No chai latte today?” he asked, punching her order into the screen. 

“Nah, I need the caffeine,” she said. “I’m exhausted.”

“Aww, poor thing. This should get your day started. That’ll be $5.11,” he said, reading off the screen. She passed him her card, he passed it back with her receipt. Cam told her to wait for her order at the far counter, like always, and she walked off after wishing him a good rest of his day.

She picked up two packets of sugar and a stirrer as she waited. A minute later, Lucas joined her in the small crowd of people waiting for their morning coffee.

“So it’s just my name you can’t remember,” he joked. 

“What?”

“The cashier, Cameron.”

“You were eavesdropping on my conversation?” she teased. He flushed a tiny bit, and she took pity on him. “I’ve known Cam for, like, forever now. This is my place. I’m here all the time.”

“This is my place too,” he said.

“I’ve definitely been coming here longer than you.” He shook his head. “I’ve never seen you before this month.”

“I’ve never seen you before either,” he countered.

“Touché.” 

“Cappuccino for Vic,” a middle-aged woman called out.

“How did your drink come out so fast?” Lucas asked.

“Thanks, Monica,” Vic said, getting her drink. “Oh, wait, I mean to ask for it to-go. Can I get a to-go cup, please?”

“Of course,” Monica said. 

“Perks of being a regular,” she said to Lucas. 

“I’m a regular, too,” he said. 

“Apparently not,” she said smugly.

“Okay, here it is,” Monica said, handing Vic her drink. 

“Thank you so much,” Vic said. “Have a good day.”

“You do the same,” Monica responded. 

“I’ll see you around,” she said quickly to Lucas. 

“Have a good one,” he told her. 

“You, too.”


End file.
